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Quitting the Habit

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Pfizer Inc's varenicline tartrate (Chantix) tablets as a therapy to aid in smoking cessation. The drug blocks nicotine from binding to receptors in the brain, effectively eliminating its addictive properties. The drug has been approved as a 12-week regimen for immediate quitting, but also allows for a second 12-week course in order to promote long-term cessation.

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State of the Heart

A new state of the art resting electrocardiograph (ECG) (Atria 6100) made by Cardiac Science Corporation has received regulatory clearance from the FDA. Unlike other machines, which solely consider age, the novel ECG utilizes an algorithm that analyzes five clinically valuable factors: age, gender, race, medication, and classification. This multifactorial assessment is especially useful when screening diverse demographic and medical profiles.

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New Injection Ameliorates MDS

MGI Pharma, Inc, and SuperGen, Inc, have announced the FDA approval of decitabine (Dacogen) for treatment in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In phase 3 trials, the drug was given intravenously at doses of 15 mg/m2 administered over a 3-hour period, every 8 hours for 3 consecutive days; therapy was repeated every 6 weeks depending upon clinical response and toxicity. An overall response rate of 21% was seen in patients with pathologically confirmed MDS at baseline who received at least two cycles of treatment.

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